Comfortably Awkward
by SangoBFF
Summary: In which the glee club finds out about one another in ways they never expected. Unconnected one-shots focusing around different groups or pairings. Multichap. Chapter 3: QuinnArtie friendship
1. Chapter 1

**First glee-fic, I'm so happy! I hope it turns out good…I'll try my best!**

**Anyway, these will all be unconnected one-shots focusing around different groups or pairings. There will be some common groupings and some uncommon; like PuckTina or FinnMercedes, they won't all be romantic pairings either! I love the idea of mixing different glee members together who normally don't talk to each other on the show. **

**Some warnings throughout the fic:**

**-Language**

**-BoyXBoy couples**

**-GirlXGirl couples**

**-And some material**

**I hope you enjoy! This one will be KurtBrittanyTina friendship!**

**XXX**

Kurt grimaced when he saw Karofsky round the corner but didn't slow down, instead he kept talking to an animated Brittany who was happily chatting about dolphins. Tina, who was on the other side of him, sent him a worried glance and stepped a little closer to him. She knew she wasn't much, but Karofsky would have to go through her before he even tried to lay a hand on Kurt.

Kurt gave her a side glance but didn't say anything. He knew that they were both the victims of the more violent bullying directed at the glee club. Karofsky wouldn't hesitate to get physical with Tina, and that pissed Kurt and the rest of the glee boys off more than they were willing to admit. He put a hand on Tina's forearm and kept walking, hoping that Karofsky wouldn't be too violent.

But when Karofsky passed, Kurt saw the bigger male's face turn to a frightening snarl. Kurt braced himself before Karofsky gave a rough shove to Tina, who knocked into Kurt; sending them both smashing against the lockers. Brittany, who managed to dodge the two, stood wide-eyed as Karofsky cackled loudly and continued on his way down the hall.

Kurt groaned loudly and sunk to the floor giving Tina a concerned look, "You okay?"

Tina only nodded and sat down beside him, "I think it's Brittany we should be worried about."

Kurt looked up at Brittany from his position on the floor; her brows were furrowed and she looked genuinely upset. Kurt mirrored her expression, "Britt? You alright?"

She turned her head slowly to look at him, "Why did he do that?"

He only shrugged, "Because he wants to."

Brittany only looked even more upset at this answer, "But it was really mean. He could've hurt you and Tina." she kneeled down in front of them, "You guys are okay, right?"

Tina gave her a small smile, "Yeah we're okay. Nothing we can't handle."

Brittany shook her head, "No boy should ever hit a girl. I wonder if he was taught that in kindergarten?" a thoughtful look crossed her features, "Maybe we should teach him ourselves."

Tina and Kurt exchanged a look. "Britt, he's a moron. He wouldn't listen." Kurt explained giving a small pat to the blonde's knee.

"Yeah… I guess."

"Anyways," Tina said standing up, "We should be heading to glee practice. We're gonna be late now." she picked up her black messenger bag and waited patiently while Kurt stood up and fixed his outfit, brushing dirt and dust off himself.

Brittany took a step closer to the two and linked arms her arms through theirs, "Let's go! I want to see Mercedes' and Rachel's duet!"

Tina laughed and Kurt smiled as Brittany dragged them down the hallway toward the choir room.

It was funny to think that last year they hardly talked to each other. Tina and Kurt were good enough friends, but not nearly as close as they were now. And Brittany never even started talking to them before Regionals last year. As they made their way down, arms linked and sporting ear-splitting grins, the kids who were still lingering in the hallway did a double take at the unusual sight. The beautiful and popular Brittany was squished in the middle between the Asian goth girl and the gay kid. And it looked like all three of them were having the time of their life.

XXX

After glee practice, Kurt went to his locker to grab his lunch. Brittany was at her own locker across from his own and looked up when Kurt approached, "Kurt! Want to sit together at lunch?" she skipped up to him and held up her lunch bag, "Santana has to make up a test, so I'll have no one to sit with. And I have cookies!"

Kurt laughed lightly and shut his locker, "Sure Brittany, you can sit with me." she squealed loudly and quickly latched onto him. Kurt stiffened at the sudden contact but managed a small pat on her back before she let go, still smiling at him.

While he was talking to Brittany by the lockers he didn't notice Karofsky and Azimio walking down the hallway, slushies in hand.

Tina decided to round the corner at the exact moment the two bullies did; colliding into Azimio and sending the blue slushie in his hand flying through the air and landing on her head. She stood there in shock while the blue liquid seeped into her clothes and hair. Karofsky blinked once before he burst out laughing, "At least it matches your hair freak!"

Kurt whipped his head around at the sound of Karofsky's voice and saw his friend standing there covered in a blue slushie. He heard the cruel laughter made at her expense and wanted to punch the duo. He clenched his fists and took a step forward to rescue his friend, but Brittany beat him to it. She was already walking toward Tina, with the most serious expression Kurt had ever seen.

Karofsky and Azimio quit laughing when Brittany stopped in front of them. Azimio scoffed, "You've got to be kiddin' me! Even this dumb broad is stickin' up for these glee fags now!"

Brittany crossed her arms, "That's not a very nice word. Apologize to us."

"It's okay, Brittany. It's not that big of a deal." Tina gave Brittany a side glance, keeping her head down.

The blonde politely ignored the girl beside her, giving Karofsky a steady look, "Well?"

He rolled his eyes, "There's no way I'm apologizing. If they can flail and sing all they want, then why can't I do what I want? I don't want to look at them or hear them everywhere I go!" he snarled at Kurt who was still standing a few feet away. Kurt only rolled his eyes, trying to mask the slight twinge of fear he felt.

Brittany nodded thoughtfully, "You know, that's what I felt before I joined glee. But when I sing and dance with everyone, I don't feel that way, I feel happy." she smiled slightly before she added, "Maybe you should join too."

Azimio gave a sharp bark of laughter, "Good one! Then he can start kissin' boys and wearing dresses like Hudson." he elbowed Karofsky in the side and jerked his head, "Let's get out of here, we're wasting our time." he sneered at Tina and Kurt before he turned and started off toward the lunch room.

But Karofsky just stood there, staring at Brittany, "I'm not joining glee." his voice was quiet and small. Kurt furrowed his brows, when did Karofsky ever use that tone of voice? Karofsky's hand was still clenched around the slushie cup, "It's…" he paused and caught Kurt's eye, "It's gay." his gaze quickly fell and he dropped the slushie, splattering purple liquid all over the white tile.

"See you losers." he turned on his heels and quickly stormed off. Kurt let out a slow breath he didn't know he was holding as he watched Karofsky round the corner.

Tina took a deep breath in, "That got a little intense there." she glanced at Kurt who nodded slowly, still a little confused at Karofsky's strange behavior.

Brittany shrugged and grabbed Tina's hand, "I'm sorry I didn't get them to apologize. I'll try later." she looked so genuinely upset that Tina had to giggle.

"Don't worry about it. But thanks for sticking up for me." Tina turned to Kurt and smiled apologetically, "Do you mind helping me clean up?"

Kurt shook his head, "Of course not. Besides, I think that slushie was for me." he grabbed his messenger bag and headed toward the girls' bathroom with Tina and Brittany in tow.

XXX

When Rachel walked into the girls' bathroom the last thing she expected to see was Kurt, Tina, and Brittany all drenched in water and red-faced. Kurt was feverously trying to fix his hair that was uncharacteristically disheveled, yelling at the two girls who were giggling on the floor uncontrollably, not paying the slightest attention to him. He huffed loudly and looked like he was going to say more before he stopped abruptly, looking at Rachel for the first time.

They both just looked at each other, feeling equally awkward before Rachel pointed to the three's drenched clothing, "What happened?"

Brittany smiled up at Rachel from her position on the wet floor, "Water fight!"


	2. Chapter 2

**Thank you so much to all those who read my story, and even those who added it as a favorite/ alert! Thank you!**

**This one is all about MercedesFinnPuck friendship! I love this idea, it's too adorable xD**

**And if any of you want to see a certain pairing or grouping just drop me a request! **

**The song I used in this chapter is called "**Breakeven**" by **TheScript

**Enjoy! :D**

**XXX**

The first time the three really talk is when Mercedes is over to hang out with Kurt, while Puck is over to play video games with Finn. It's a little weird to think that Finn and Kurt are brothers now, and that they _live_ together, but the family works. It's nice.

Mercedes and Kurt are in his room; Mercedes is painting her nails and he's looking up songs for the Warblers, when his phone goes off. He reaches for the phone but freezes suddenly, his hand dangling in midair over the device, "It's Blaine! What should I do?" he stares wide-eyed at his friend and she laughs, wondering when Kurt turned into a thirteen year old girl. When she voices this, he throws a pillow at her before he calmly answers the phone, "Hi Blaine."

Mercedes shakes her head but smiles, "I'll be right back babe." he nods absently at her while she's walking out of the room. As she's going down the stairs she can hear Puck yelling at the top of his lungs, with Finn screeching at him to be quiet. She turns the corner and a small smile plays on her lips when she sees the two boys jumping in front of the flat-screen.

Puck sees her from the corner of his eye and nods his head, "'Sup Aretha."

Mercedes makes a noise from the back of her throat as an acknowledgement while she opens the freezer in search of a frozen pizza. When she finds nothing she closes the door and stands up, jumping when she sees Finn standing next to her.

He grins cheekily, "Are you going to make some food?"

She pushes past him and sits on the barstool, "No way, I was going to ask Kurt to make some. I'm hungry." Puck sits next to her and nods in agreement.

Finn runs a hand through his hair and looks up the stairs, hoping Kurt heard their pleas and would come make some food. Mercedes follows his gaze and scoffs, "He's not coming, to busy talking to Blaine." she can't hide the anger from slipping into her voice. It's not like she doesn't like Blaine or anything, it's just Kurt hasn't had time to hang out with _her _anymore. The one person who never abandoned him or teased him about his sexuality. The one person who helped him through the stuff he even couldn't talk to his dad about. And that _hurt. _Once this Blaine kid came along, Kurt really didn't talk to her as much as he did. But he's trying to patch things up, and Mercedes couldn't be happier. She loves him so much, and she's truly happy he's found someone that can make him smile as much as he has been lately.

She just wonders when it'll be her turn for her prince to come.

Finn waves a hand in front of her face and she comes back to reality, she looks up at his face and can see he's a little concerned, "Hey, you okay?"

She nods her head, "Yeah, I'm fine. But how about we get some food?" she hops off the barstool and grabs her keys off the table, "I'll buy."

Puck laughs loudly and wraps an arm around Mercedes, "Free food! Hell yeah, you rock baby!" she rolls her eyes but doesn't move from his grasp. Finn follows behind closely, "Should we tell Kurt?"

Puck scoffs, "He can cook can't he?"

Mercedes doesn't wait for Finn's response; she's out the door and in her car before the boys even have their shoes on. She wants out of that house, being in the same house as Kurt when things are still a little weird between them is exhausting. She really wishes she would get over her pride and just tell Kurt that she's happy for him, but she can't. It's not that easy to let go of a best friend.

Finn climbs in the back and looks around politely, "Nice car."

Puck looks around too, "Yeah, but it's totally not you." he has a light sneer, "I was expecting a nineteen-sixty Chevy."

Mercedes laughs, "I wish. This car is jank, not my style at all. But it gets me from A to B." she pulls out of the driveway, trying to see past Finn's head if any cars are coming.

When they're on the road a peaceful silence falls over the car, giving Mercedes some time to think about her current situation. This would have _never_ happened a year ago. Puck wouldn't be sitting next to her in the passenger seat staring out the window, nor would Finn be in the backseat all squished up and trying not to break anything.

She catches Puck staring at her from the corner of her eye, "What?"

He shrugs casually, and looks back out the window, "This is weird."

Mercedes stares at him a little before she returns her eyes back to the road, and doesn't answer him. She decides that yes, it _is_ weird, but it's also kind of nice.

XXX

The waitress who takes their order can't get enough of Puck, giving him looks and smiles that linger just a second to long. He's returns them, of course, but not with as much vigor as he would have. Sitting next to Finn after all this time is a little unsettling, and although he's glad there isn't any anger or malice drifting off the taller boy, he still finds it awkward. He only agreed to go over to Finn's house because he was unbearably bored, he would have accepted to go over Rachel's house and listen to her whine all day for heavens' sake! He grimaced at the thought of spending a day with Rachel. She was hot, but he'd rather eat nails that spend more than an hour with her.

What's even weirder is that he's hanging out with Mercedes like they're old friends, he glances at her while she takes a bite of her sandwich and it feels like he's done this forever. Which is pretty weird considering he's only talked to her for about a few months.

He likes her well enough though; she's pretty badass and doesn't take crap from anyone. And Puck feels like she could take on any guy from the football team if she tried.

But when Puck looks at Finn mixed feelings wash over him. The most prominent feeling is guilt; a sickening feeling in the pit of his stomach. Puck realizes the he hasn't played the role of best friend very well; from having sex with Quinn to making out with Rachel. And even ostracizing Finn when he joined glee club.

Puck feels disgusted with himself, but the one thing he doesn't regret is telling Quinn he loved her, because he truly did. Still does.

But even though when he looks at Finn there are mostly unpleasant feelings, there's also a tiny shred of nostalgia and happiness. He misses the times where he could have gone to Finn about anything, or nothing. Or when he and Finn would have stayed up all night playing PlayStation and eating Doritos.

They were like brothers, and Puck was happy.

He realizes that they probably won't ever be that close again, and although it's disheartening, he won't give up what little friendship he has left with Finn.

Mercedes clears her throat, "Boy, you alright?"

Puck looks up from his plate and stares directly at her, almost as if he forgot she was there. She's staring at his hand and he follows her gaze, and seeing he has a death grip on the fork he immediately lets go.

She raises an eyebrow but doesn't press the matter any further, and turns to Finn, "Have you seen Rachel lately? That girl is driving me crazy with all her drama; you _need_ to talk to her."

Finn's cheeks turn a light scarlet and he suddenly finds the ground insanely interesting. Puck scoffs, "What? She still hung up over him?"

Mercedes sighs and leans forward, "Listen, Rachel's been through a lot, and if her song at Regionals shows anything I think she's just feeling a little depressed." she smiles a little, "She may still be loud and obnoxious and awfully dressed, but she's come a long way since last year. I think we all owe it to her to help her through this, she's saved our asses way more than I can count."

Puck doesn't want to admit it, but he's been wondering what was up with Rachel too. She wasn't as…_happy_ as she normally was. Her smiles and laughter have seemed a little forced lately. She's even been letting other people get solos, which was a huge sign that something wasn't right.

Well, he feels like a total emotional bitch today.

Finn sighs quietly, "I can't just start liking her again. That wouldn't help either of us."

"I'm not _saying_ you have to fall in love with her, I'm just saying that she needs a person she can trust." Mercedes looks over to Puck, "You too. I know for a fact she likes you."

Before Puck can say something anything Finn cuts in, "Okay, we'll do it. I'm kinda worried about her anyways."

Puck turns to glare at him, "What's this 'we' stuff?"

Finn smiles, which unnerves Puck a little since Finn hasn't smiled at him since last year, "We're pals right? Amigos?"

And all of a sudden Puck feels like he wants to go die. He was a dick to Finn, and the guy's giving him a second chance. But not wanting to seem like a total pussy for today, he fights down the feeling of wanting to tackle-hug his friend, and nods gruffly.

Mercedes seems to understand what just transpired between the two because a knowing smile crosses her features.

XXX

When the three leave the restaurant Finn runs to the passenger seat, "I get to ride up front on the way home!" he scrambles into the car before Puck can yank him out.

"Not cool dude!" Puck hits the back of Finn's head while he climbs in the backseat, not nearly as squished as Finn was.

Finn buckles his seat belt when Mercedes merges into traffic, "Get over it." he turns his head to stick his tongue out at his friend, earning him another smack on the head. And soon enough the two are smacking and punching each other over the middle counsel in the car.

Mercedes groans, "Don't make me pull this car over!" she glares sharply at Finn, "And put your seat belt back on!"

Finn's terrified eyes are almost comical to Mercedes but she's down to her last nerve. Thankfully, the two boys quiet down, but the car is unnaturally silent. Finn feels unbearably awkward so he leans over to turn on the radio, a Miley Cyrus song blares from the speaker causing everyone to jump. He quickly turns down the volume and changes the station, finding a quiet rock station.

He gasps in recognition, "I love this song!" he smiles goofily at Mercedes before breaking out in song, purposely off key.

She winces, "Boy, shut up."

He smiles even wider, and sings louder. Puck kicks the back of Finn's seat, "Let me show you how it's done." he cracks his knuckles and gives Finn a smirk before he starts to sing, "_While I'm wide awake, she's no trouble sleeping. 'Cause when her heart breaks, no it don't breakeven_."

At the chorus Finn joins in, "_What am I supposed to do when the best part of me was always you? What am I supposed to say when I'm all choked up that you're okay? _"

Mercedes shakes her head, but adds her own voice, "_I'm falling to pieces_. _I'm falling to pieces!_"

When the song ends, the three look at each other before they burst out laughing. It was strange singing like this, they sung in glee, yes, but not by choice. Finn turns to look out the window to hide his smile. He and Puck were finally starting to be _normal_ again, which was a miracle in itself. And something he was so thankful for. He even got to know Mercedes better today, and although she was kind of scary, she was still really awesome and he now understood why Kurt loved her so much.

His smile grows a little wider. Today was a good day.


	3. Chapter 3

**All about Quartie this time around :) **

**Thank you **_**so **_**much to everyone who favorite, and alerted this story! And a special thank you to LilacSky128 for reviewing!**

**Enjoy! :D**

**XXX**

Quinn Fabray was beautiful.

She was perfect; perfect white teeth, perfect hair, perfect face, perfect body. Perfect perfect perfect.

Half of the girls wanted to be her friend, while the other half wanted her to disappear. She tried to not let it get to her. But as she walked down the hallway she couldn't help but notice how some of the girls would whisper as she walked by. Their faces' would turn into something that made her stomach a little queasy; their faces' reminded her of what happened in sophomore year, and all the mistakes she made.

She slams her locker closed and sees Sam, her current boyfriend, out of the corner of her eye. He smiles at her, and automatically she smiles back. He closes his own locker and makes his way over to her, "How's it going?"

Quinn sighs, "I've got a test next period that I stayed up all night studying for."

Sam nods empathetically and takes her hand, "Walk you to class?"

She laughs lightly, and interlaces their fingers as they walk. Quinn loves Sam; he's tall, athletic, funny, strong, and will do anything for her. But she isn't too sure if it's just a passing fling or the real deal. He makes her feel lighter than air and invincible. But so does glee club.

And then there was Finn and Puck to think about. She had never really gotten over her first love; Finn. He was an idiot, but he had been the perfect gentleman towards her. He could go from a horny teenager to a caring and compassionate man in less than a second. She always loved how Finn trusted her with everything, and she knew she could have gone to Finn for anything.

But then she broke that trust. She still cries about it sometimes.

She had slept with Puck, gotten pregnant, and lied about everything. She messed up her perfect little world for a night of pleasure. But then an image of Puck flashes in her mind, and she knows that it wasn't all in vain. She had gotten the honor of seeing a kinder and gentler side of Puck no one had previously known before.

A part of Quinn wants the old life back, where she was on top and got anything she wanted. But the other side of her, the more mature and wiser side, disagrees. In the present, Quinn has a group of true friends that got her back no matter what and a heart full of painful memories that will hopefully become something precious and beautiful in time.

Sam squeezes her hand one more time before he lets go, "See you later, and good luck." he places a kiss on her forehead before he leaves. She watches him go with a smile.

Since it's the first period of the day, she's a little early. As she slides into her desk she catches a glimpse of Artie playing air drums with two pencils, she smirks, "Having fun?"

He looks up and smiles a little sheepishly, but his witty reply comes anyway, "Care to join? I could use a bass player."

"Sorry, I'm a singer. That's all I'm good for."

He nods and pushes up his glasses, "Of course." his eye catches something behind her and he grins, "What up dawg?"

Quinn shakes her head at Artie's attempts to be "white-gangsta", as he so eloquently puts it. She moves her elbow which sends her pencil rolling off her desk. She sighs and leans down to get it, but a larger hand swoops down and picks it up. She sits up and Puck's face comes into view, he hands her her pencil, and she mumbles a thank you as he casually makes his way over to Artie.

Artie gives Puck a nod of acknowledgement before he smiles ever so suave, "Come here often?"

Puck smirks, "Baby, I go wherever the pretty ladies are." the two boys fist bump and Quinn rolls her eyes. The whole friendship between them doesn't really make sense to anyone, but the two balance each other out. _A dramatic foil, _Quinn smirks a little, her eighth grade teach would be so proud.

The two boys continue their conversation and Quinn zones out, running over the multiple equations she had spent the entire night studying over. But really, all this 'fancy' math never made sense to her, when would she _ever_ needto know the missing side of a triangle? Waste of time.

But of course she studies and drills the equations and problems into her brain, because that's what the teachers tell her to do. Without adequate knowledge, she'll never amount to anything. At least, that's what they tell her.

And after all, when were adults ever wrong?

She internally sneers; _my dad would be a good example. _

Her grip on her pencil tightens; she still wasn't sure how to deal with her dad's betrayal to their family. She knew her dad wasn't as happy as he claimed to be, but she never knew how unsatisfied he truly was until the truth came out. On one hand, she's relieved that she doesn't have to put up a façade around her dad anymore, but she still kind of misses him.

It's at this point that Artie looks over at her; eyebrows drawn in, hardened eyes, and pursed lips, he stares at her, contemplating whether or not he should ask her if something was up. Eventually he excuses himself from Puck, and rolls himself over to Quinn.

""Sup baby girl?"

Quinn quirks an eyebrow, "Excuse me?"

He smiles softly, "You look upset." he notices how her eyes are a little unfocused, "What's up?"

She turns back to her notes and flips the page; Artie can feel her put up defenses, "Nothing. I was just studying."

His mind blanks, and he wonders how to handle a situation where the girl he's talking to has gone through more shit than anyone he'd ever known. He mentally curses himself, why had he bothered to come over here? What could he have possibly done to help her? He and Quinn had never been chummy. Only that one time when they were paired up for duets, but that had been about it. But maybe he came over because, for a split second, he had been slightly reminded of Tina.

He looks back at Puck for help, because surely Puck is the guy who knows the most about Quinn-

and who is also flirting with the girl behind him. Artie gives the back of Puck's head a nasty glare before he turns back to Quinn; who is also staring at Puck.

Artie sees the hurt in those hazel eyes and he immediately regrets coming over to her. He'd never been good with handling matters of the heart; it kind of freaked him out. But luckily, Artie had enough balls to trudge through awkwardness and managed and shaky, "He doesn't understand when to quit, I keep telling him to focus more on school and less on girls.

Quinn sighs, "Must be nice not to care who you hurt."

He didn't think the situation couldn't have gotten any more painful, he was wrong. "Well, I wouldn't say that, I think there's mutual usage going on between both parties."

A flip of the page is his only response.

"A-And besides," he continues on, because his mom had always taught him to help girls in need, "I think we both know what he's really trying to do."

Hazel eye's flicker up to his, but only for a moment, "I don't understand what you mean." her tone was icy, he flinched.

An image of Tina, for some odd reason, flashes through his mind. Quinn and Tina were similar, he decides; they both hid behind walls when things got to rough. Both are good at lying, at running away.

But Quinn isn't the same girl she was in sophomore year, she didn't treat others like they were dirt anymore, and when she smiled it was genuine, not forced or strained. She could stand on her own two feet now, making sure everyone knew of her fierce independence.

Artie tries a new tactic, one last try, "You know its okay to allow yourself to feel."

Her head shoots up in surprise, "You don't think I know that? I understand perfectly well that I'm human and that I can allow myself to feel weak." she slams her book loudly, gaining the attention of some of the students around her. "Please don't look at me and stick a label to me."

He mentally freaks; offending her was the last think he wanted. Damn his chivalrous tendencies!

However, to his growing surprise, Quinn offers a thin smile, "But, thank you. Most people wouldn't have done that." her tone is slightly guarded, like she's trying to find a hidden motive behind his gesture. But regardless, he knows she's sincere.

The teacher walks in and announces the start of class, so he finds himself rolling away from her and towards his seat. His head is swimming, not exactly comprehending what just happened. He still isn't sure if he had helped or made the problem worse, but if his pounding heart is any indication, he knows it was serious. Serious enough to make him go over there in the first place.

So as he takes his test, he can't help but notice the tuff of blonde hair in his peripheral.

XXX

**Artie is probably way ooc, but to me I can see this happening. I really don't know why, but I think it has to do with me picturing Artie comparing Tina and Quinn together, and seeing a resemblance. I think Tina is also the type to build walls, hence the reason she pretended she had a stutter. **

**Anyways, I really hoped you enjoyed!**


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